154. Pete Melman, Part 2

154. Our interview with Pete Melman, Part 2. His novel Landsman has been called, "a stirring, evocative, and unforgettable epic novel of the Civil War in the tradition of Cold Mountain and Widow of the South. In the summer of 1853, in Lafayette City, Louisiana, eleven-year-old Elias Abrams loses his mother to yellow fever. Grief-stricken and alone, he becomes embroiled in the street life of New Orleans. After Elias is falsely accused of a crime and in order to escape arrest a decade later, he enlists as a private in the Third Louisiana Regiment, where three thousand other Jews will ultimately fight for the Confederacy.

1. This week in Louisiana history. April 30, 1803. Louisiana Treaty Purchase Treaty signed.
2. This week in New Orleans history. April 30, 1812.  Louisiana becomes a state. Nine years after the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France, Louisiana became the 18th American state on April 30, 1812. It was not contiguous to any other U.S. state (Mississippi was not admitted until 1817, Arkansas until 1836, and Texas in 1845).
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Association
   May 6th, 2016 - May 8th, 2016
   Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
   1300 Rees St., 520 Parkway Dr, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
   337-332-6655 | 337-332-5917
   Website
   Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
   Famous Cajun, Zydeco and Swamp Pop musicians and plays host to over 30 bands on three stages during the three-day festival.

Listen in iTunes.

Listen in Stitcher.

The Louisiana Anthology Home Page.

Like us on Facebook.